Catharsis
by PixelButterfly
Summary: Part 5 of 5 of my Birthday Bash! In which So gets revenge on Wook and Chae Ryung in the way I wish things would have boiled down... or how I wish the show showed us some torture and mental degradation. Because I am petty. Warnings: Self harm and suicide.
1. Wook

**Warning: Self harm and suicide.**

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He received monthly updates on the status of his twin. Gwangjong looked at the letters sent by his spy and skimmed over the letters.

The first few had been infuriating.

 _The prince is enjoying quietly reading in his solar and taking walks around the gardens. He has been studying the history of Shilla and has ordered two new manuscripts be sent._

So wondered if it was all in vain- of his efforts to punish Wook had been a mistake and he should have just cut the vicious snake's head off.

He told himself to wait. Some punishments took a bit longer than expected. In the meantime, So took it upon himself to undo every strange twist and knot Wook had created in the tapestry of the royal court. Bribes were accounted for, promises redacted, and all of Wook's former allies were forced to be on their best behavior.

 _Prince Wook has taken up cultivating flowers. He enjoys sitting in the sun and reading._

Flowers. Of all things, Wook had decided to grow flowers. So sat beneath a gazebo in the gardens and sighed out at the pink and purple blossoms that grew in abundance. Those were Soo's plants. The very ones she had watered as a maid.

So tossed the letter aside.

 _Prince Wook has completed an entire shelf of books and has taken up wrestling. Prince Jung has come to see him. He did not bring his wife._

So had ground his teeth at that letter. Did he have to confine Jung to his home as well? Was it not enough to bar the youngest from Songak? No. He would not further exile Jung. Jung was Soo's only protection in Chungju. As much as he despised the thought of Jung protecting Soo, So would never allow her to come to harm because of the Yoo family.

 _Prince Wook's wife has birthed a son. The prince is extremely pleased._

Wook held out for six years. So endured letters of Wook happily going about his life, growing angrier and angrier as his brother sired more children and raised them without a care in the world.

 _Prince Wook was present for his son's fourth birthday celebrations. He has stopped shaving and no longer wears belts. The servants say the belts are too constricting, but his clothes have been altered because he has lost weight. The prince eats less and less every day._

Then, the letter he had been waiting for arrived. So tore into the cloth envelope with bored hands, wondering if another report of Wook's fashion choices had arrived. He had ordered his spy to refrain from sending word if nothing had occurred. Wook was too stable to break easily and So doubted even torture could put a dent in his brother.

 _After finishing the last book in his study, Prince Wook went into a rage and set his study on fire. He was not injured in the resulting fire, but two servants were killed trying to put the flames out. The Prince showed no remorse at their deaths but fell to his knees before his burnt library and cried until he collapsed from exhaustion._

Finally.

It took six years for Wook to snap. So read the letter over and over again, imagining his twin flying into a rage and knocking candles over in the study he had treasured as a child. Wook had grown up amassing his collection of books and manuscripts that could rival even the royal library.

The next letter arrived two months later.

 _Prince Baek Ah came to see Prince Wook. The two spoke and the Eighth Prince expressed regret over many of his past actions. The Thirteenth Prince surveyed the burnt library and departed without a word. Later, Prince Wook untied his hair and held his children. He laid on the ground, staring up at the sky. Later, while his daughters braided and played with his hair, he wept._

Scoffing, So wondered why Baek Ah bothered to see Wook. It was because of their eighth brother that both of their loves were dead. Wook was the seed that had sprouted the hell they currently inhabited.

 _Prince Wook walks the perimeter of his property every day. He touches the wall that separates him from the outside world. Carrying a sword, he fights off imaginary monsters and blames His Majesty for sending troops to come and destroy him. His paranoia is rampant. His children avoid him._

So read the letter before gazing at his nephew as they shared his table, having dinner together. "How is your father?" So asked the son of Wang Wook. He had allowed the child into his home after Wook's mother had asked him not to place the blame of a father's crimes onto the son. Not only the former queen, but even Daemok had pleaded for So to allow Ju to have a friend.

"My father is unwell, Your Majesty," the boy replied. He was a quiet but brave child. So did not hate him, but he felt no familial love for the child that Wook had made. To him, Wang Chi was but a speck… but he did not ignore the speck. Like his father, there was no telling what the child was capable of. So did not lower his guard around the boy. He knew that their shared blood made the child eligible to win the throne. So had no plans to relinquish his seat to the spawn of wang Wook.

"He used to be kind, but now he cannot see my brothers and sisters," explained the child. "He shouts and keeps his hair untied."

"You must be afraid," So murmured, taking a sip of his tea. He rolled the hot liquid over his tongue and gazed at the boy. Chi stared at him with wide, imploring eyes. "Is there something you would like to say?"

The boy swallowed and So peered down at the child as he quivered. "P-Please release my father, Your Majesty," stammered the boy. Standing from his seat, Chi moved to stand beside the king and knelt to the floor, bending his little knees before his uncle. "Please release my father from his forced captivity. I beg of you."

So reached a hand out and touched the boy's head, patting his nephew. He was unmoved by the child's desire to aid the father that had abandoned him. So remembered a time when he would have given his world for a father that barely glanced his way.

"Rise, Wang Chi," he murmured.

When the boy stood, So looked into his hopeful eyes and shook his head. "Learn this well. When a king decrees something, his word is irreversible." A lie, but So did not care to release Wook from his misery. He doubted freedom would even bring Wook's sanity back. "I shall not free your father. He is being punished for crimes committed before your conception, little one. And though I will not blame you for the sins of your father, I also will not entertain your requests."

Months later, So opened another letter.

 _Day by day, the prince continues to act like a caged animal. He yearns to see the outside world and to breathe the air that is not polluted by his own property. He has bitten in fingernails into bloody stubs and each day, he lies on the grass and stares up at the sky, weeping. He only wears white and just four days ago, took a sword to his own hair and beard, and cut the strands in an offering to his ancestors. He begged them to tear down the walls of his home and allow him a sight of the outside world._

So found a perverse satisfaction in reading the accounts of Wook's crumbling mental state. Privy to the gruesome details of Wook's self harm, So sat in his bedroom and stared at the far wall, mulling over the latest piece of correspondence.

 _Prince Wook's hands shake and a cough has overtaken him. His self-starvation has left him gaunt and haggard. He drinks beneath the stars and cuts his wrists in shallow stripes, letting them bleed as he weeps. The prince does not cut deep enough to cut any veins._

Then, ten years after exiling Wook into oblivion, So opened the final piece of correspondence sent by his informant.

 _After walking around the border of his home, the prince climbed over the fence of his home. He gazed out at the world before losing his grip and falling into the moat. He was found dead, his neck snapped._

So gazed up from the letter and sighed, staring into the rain that poured around Songak.

"Alone in this world… yet I feel warmed at the news of your death, brother." Murmuring to the storm clouds, So reached for his teacup. "May we never cross paths in our next lives."


	2. Chae Ryung

The proclamation was issued and disgruntled lords were forced to relinquish their servants and slaves. Damiwon was emptied and the water maids were all called into the heart of the castle. From the lowest level of water maid to the snooty huffs of the annoyed Damiwon girls, everyone wondered why they were all called to the heart of the castle- a place no water maid would ever be able to see again.

They were surrounded by soldiers- towering men that held spears with curved blades at the end of the shaft. Dressed in red, and covered with armor, they leered down at the eunuchs and women that cooked, cleaned, chased after the children of nobility, and worked from dusk 'til dawn to earn their wages.

Fear ran wild as eyes turned to the wooden stage at the center of the courtyard- a flat deck raised just high enough for the entire audience to witness what was happening atop it.

Hundreds of people stood before the great stone steps leading up to the throne room, shielding their eyes from the sun that glared down upon them. At the top of the stairs, they could see men and women dressed in the finest shades of blue, purple, gold, and green. And, if they looked hard enough, they could barely discern the twin dragons that flashed on the black sleeves of the king himself.

To his right sat a woman in robes of deep purple, her hair bedecked with jewels and gold. To his left stood a woman in robes of light blue and silver. She wore no jewels in her finely braided hair, and her face was one remembered by a number of Damiwon girls and water maids.

Wang So stared down at the servants that dealt with the dirtier cogs of the castle, remembering a time when Hae Soo wore the same clothing and worked the same jobs as the ones that stood beneath them.

"You don't have to stay, my love," So murmured to Soo. He turned to gaze at the pained expression on his lover's face and stood, brushing a hand over her shoulder. He could see how distraught being present made her feel. "I understand she meant much to you." He could feel Yeon Hwa bristling beside him, but So did not care. Instead, he focused on Soo, accepting her bow and allowing her to excuse herself. He would go to her later. He would hold her and apologize for his actions. But for now, he retained his mask and stared down at his subjects.

With a flick of his hand, he ordered a soldier to begin reading. Sitting down, So returned his eyes to the crowd.

The soldier stood on the stage and threw a scroll open, clearing his throat for attention. "By order of His Majesty, the Damiwon maid, Chae Ryung, is to be executed for high treason!" shouted the man. "For spying on His Majesty, poisoning the past king, and trading secrets in regards to His Majesty's personal house, the maid is to be beaten to death! You are all gathered here to witness her punishment. Should you fail to watch the execution, you will also be punished!"

The soldier bowed to So before marching off the stage.

So did not blink when Yeon Hwa turned to him. Beside her, Won coughed away from the stage, shielding his face with his sleeve as if he had smelled something foul. The queen also lifted her sleeve to her face, muffling her voice. "What is this display, Your Majesty? What good will watching a maid be beaten to death do for the-"

"It is to instill fear, queen," snapped So. He did not move his gaze away from the two guards that escorted Chae Ryung onto the stage. The former maid sobbed and begged for his mercy, but So only heard the lies of the woman that had weaseled her way into Soo's heart. That maid's treason was why Soo's eyes clouded with pain. She was the reason Soo had suffered for years and the reason why it was Yeon Hwa by So's side.

Another flick of his hand and the soldiers raised their batons, bringing the wooden beams down onto Chae Ryung's body. Her white gown marked her ready for confession, death, and burial. The dress billowed around her as she collapsed onto the stage.

A scream pierced through the layer of fear that covered the servants, only thickening the dread that hung on their shoulders.

Over and over, blows were administered to the former maid, and So watched with indifference. His orders were specific. Her face was to be left unharmed; she would be broken from the tips of her toes until she died from her injuries.

The soldiers each took one of Chae Ryung's socked feet and raised their clubs, poised to strike. A single barked order and two blows fell onto the appendages, snapping them.

The resulting shriek muted the horrified shouts of the audience. Wailing, Chae Ryung clawed at the armored legs of the soldiers that commenced with her punishment.

So leaned back in his seat and continued to witness the torture of Won's spy. The soldiers beside her did not take turns in administering blow after blow to her legs until her shins were mangled, turning shades of black and purple.

When Chae Ryung fainted, the torture was paused.

A bucket of water was unceremoniously dumped over her head, drenching her body and forcing her back into reality. So continued to watch even as Yeon Hwa excused herself. "Stay, queen," So ordered, holding her arm and forcing her back into her seat. "Witness what happens to those that conspire behind my back."

Tossing the queen's wrist aside, So sat back, knowing Yeon Hwa understood the subtext of his words. She would not try to escape again.

"How is it that Hae Soo was allowed to leave?" asked Yeon Hwa, her voice unwavering. "Do you trust her to stay in the palace once you have murdered or exiled everyone she held dear?"

So did not answer. Instead, he blocked the din of Yeon Hwa's voice and continued to watch as Chae Ryung's hands were mangled and her arms shattered. The screams became hoarse hisses, which then became silence. The only sound in the courtyard came from maids that sobbed in terror and the heavy breathing from the soldiers that rained blow after blow down to the collapsed body that stained the stage red.

Standing, So ordered his guards to make sure no one left the premise until Chae Ryung was dead. He cared little for the obvious outcome of the situation. The servants were to be put back to work after this debacle was over.

The king walked away from the scene he had concocted and made for the small residence nestled among the flower trees in the gardens. He hoped to speak with Soo- to comfort her. No doubt she would be hurting from the loss of her former friend.

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 **And that concludes my Birthday Bash! I hope no one hates me too much for all of it, but I think I had an okay time posting everything.**

 **Thanks for reading and happy Thanksgiving to my US people!**


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